IRVING, Texas - Baylor men's tennis players Tony Lupieri and Mate Zsiga, along with assistant coach Dominik Mueller were recognized by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association with Texas region awards Wednesday.
Lupieri was named the region's Most Improved Player (Senior) of the Year, after moving up to the No. 2 spot in the singles lineup for Baylor in 2015. Lupieri has been ranked in the ITA top 35 for the whole season, but he currently resides at No. 35, after tallying a 16-11 singles record overall and a 9-9 mark in dual-match play. The senior is 6-10 against ranked opponents, but has wins over then-No. 1 ranked Thai-Son Kwiatkowski and then-No. 30 Ben Lott.
Last season, Lupieri struggled down the stretch, losing four of his last seven decisions and playing at the No. 5 and 6 spots in the lineup. Following the team competition, Lupieri will represent Baylor in the singles portion of the NCAA Championships. The native of Zagreb, Croatia, is the first BU athlete to tally the honor.
Zsiga, the ITA/Arthur Ashe, Jr. Sportsmanship & Leadership Award winner, has provided Baylor with a proven senior presence throughout the season. The Szeged, Hungary, product has tallied a 15-4 singles mark and a 12-3 record in dual-match play. He is currently ranked No. 116 in the country in singles play. Zsiga is the fourth BU player to win the honor, joining Mark Williams (2001), Lars Poerschke (2008) and John Peers (2011).
Mueller received the Texas region's assistant Coach of the Year honor for the first time, after helping head coach Matt Knoll guide Baylor to a 23-5 record and the Big 12 regular season title.
Mueller's squad made the NCAA round of 16 for a 14th-straight season in 2015. The Bears are ranked No. 2 in the latest ITA poll. Mueller is the fifth different BU assistant coach to be recognized with the regional honor, joining (Kevin Kowalik [1998], Sam Winterbotham [2002], Rob Cheyne [2005] and Kyle Spencer [2007]).
Each of the three honorees are now eligible to win an ITA National award, which will be announced Tuesday.
The Baylor men's team will continue its NCAA Championships run with a Sweet 16 match vs. No. 18 South Florida Thursday at 7 p.m. CT at the Hurd Tennis Center in Waco.
